Transparent
by onormini
Summary: *Portal 2 Content Inside* Chell has finally escaped Aperture. However, questions about her past constantly haunt her. When a certain robot crashes into her life, she learns that the only way to find answers is to go back. Will she be able to escape this time? And what has Aperture Laboratories become in her absence?
1. Escape

*About the story*

Hello there! Now, this story is based off the theory that Chell is the daughter of Cave Johnson and Caroline. Obviously, this theory hasn't been confirmed, so if you don't agree with it, then you've clicked the wrong story. And obviously I don't own Portal. Just putting that little disclaimer out there ;) Enjoy!

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As soon as the shack door slammed shut, she grabbed companion cube and ran. Her legs pulsed with more energy than she ever had before. She had no idea where she was going to go, but she knew she had to get as far away from Aperture as she could. Even though GLaDOS may have let her go, nothing was stopping her from changing her mind and dragging her back down into the endless depths of the science facility. She looked over her shoulder for a brief second and saw the shack was now out of sight, but now the only thing she could see was the vast golden field, and the bright blue sky above her. Her legs continued to sprint away in freedom, and yet she felt as though she was still trapped.

The companion cube on her back swung back and forth with each stride. She wasn't sure as to why she took the cube; it didn't do anything except exist. However, a feeling of protection and company overwhelmed her when the cube was with her. In a sense, she also wished that she left the cube behind. If she kept it, it would constantly remind her of the hell she escaped, and it weighed her down, making running that much harder. She pushed the thought aside and focused on her escape. After what seemed like forever, the field ended next to a dirt path. She skidded to a halt and caught herself from falling backwards.

Next to the strip of dirt and gravel was a huge fence with barbed wire strung across the top and a nearby red sign warned with white words: "Warning! High Voltage! _Death is almost certain if you touch the fence, so don't do it_." The side-note of the bottom of the sign hinted that she was still in the proximity of the Aperture facility, which gave her a gut-awful feeling. What if she was still testing? What if she never left the facility? What if the scenery that surrounded her were just painted walls? She shook her head. Thoughts like that would drive her insane. She sighed heavily and looked around the fence. It she had a portal gun, she could get around the fence with ease, but it had been left behind in GLaDOS's lair. _If there is a fence, there is usually a gate. _She thought to herself.

She began her trek down the never-ending fence to look for a way out. Miles must have gone by, and she still couldn't find an exit of any kind. She turned around to walk the other way, but something caught the corner of her eye. Part of the fence was broken and left a small gap under it. She looked at the gap, it wasn't big enough for her to squeeze through, but the dirt underneath was soft and easy to dig through. She tossed companion cube over the fence and began digging under the fence. The soft dirt soon turned into rocks and pebbles, and it was beginning to take much longer to dig. After she removed a good amount of rocks from out from under the fence, she got down on her stomach and began crawling under it.

When she got to the other side, she got up, but she slipped on some loose pebbles and fell on the fence. She tensed up waiting for the electrocution, but nothing happened. She opened her eyes and touched the fence. It wasn't deadly at all, just a normal barbed-wire fence. She kicked the fence in anger because she could have climbed over with a few cuts instead of spending so much time digging and removing rocks. But, it was over now. She was on the other side of the fence, and for the first time, completely out of Aperture. She put companion cub back on her and began jogging away from the fence. About two miles out, she reached a straight road that didn't seem to go anywhere. Everything at this point seemed endless. The field, the fence, the sky, the road, everything seemed to go on forever.

Was there even anything here? She had been underground for who knows how long, and she knew nothing about what had become of the outside world. She shook her head again. No more thinking like that. Aperture seemed never-ending, but she escaped. It had ended. This road could be leading her to the end of her journey and the start of her life. She decided to head left and follow the road until she reached… well, whatever the road led to. Night was beginning to fall and the road was still going. At this point, her feet were aching, and there was nothing in sight, so she plopped down on the ground and leaned against companion cube. There was no telling how long she would be walking, and she hadn't slept in forever. It took a while to relax enough to even think about going unconscious in the middle of nowhere, but somehow, sleep overtook her and the outside world melted away.

Bright lights and rumbling sound is what she woke to. She squinted her eyes and put up a hand as a visor and saw that there was a truck next to her. A large middle-aged man emerged from the driver's seat and made his way over to her.

"Hello, miss? You alright?" He asked with a scruffy voice.

She made no response but looked at the man with wide eyes. It was almost unreal seeing another person after being drowned in robots, turrets, cores, and other mechanical beings. But this man, he was living, breathing, not robotic, and probably not bloodthirsty.

"Miss?" he asked again squatting down to her eye level. "You need a ride of somethin'? People usually aren't collapsed on the side of the road in these parts."

She looked at the truck and nodded. This man would probably be the only chance she had to make it anywhere, and this was the only car she had seen on the road, and the chances of another willing driver offering to give her a ride was very slim.

The man got up and held out a hand. "Alrighty then, let's go." She hesitantly took his hand and stood up. He looked over at the companion cube. "You can put that, erm… box in the back, you know what? I'll do it for you." He picked up the cube and put it inside, and then he got back into the car himself. She was still standing outside of the truck, however.

"Hey miss, you coming?"

She nodded and got in on the passenger side of the truck. The man pressed on the gas pedal and the truck rumbled away. After a few moments the man began talking again. "Oh, how rude of me, my name is Chris Scott, but you can just call me Scotty." He glanced over at her and the back to the road. "You got a name for yourself, miss?" he asked. She tensed a bit and looked around, she couldn't speak to him. She saw a pen and a receipt and jotted it down. The man looked at it. "Chell, huh?" he read pronouncing it "Shell" he smiled. "Well, nice to meet you sea-chell." Chell tilted her head for a moment at the nickname, but didn't bother with it. The man glanced at her again. "You got, um, a problem with speaking, sea-chell?" he asked. She stared at him for a moment, and then glanced away. He coughed and said quickly, "Sorry… if it's a touchy subject, I won't bring it up… just keep writing on that paper, it's fine." Chell shrugged and wrote down 'it's ok' on the paper. He nodded and then asked, "Do you want me to drop you off at your plac-"he stopped himself when he saw Chell shaking her head. "Oh… I suppose you don't have a place then… um… well, you can stay at my place until you, um, figure out where you're going. I have a guest room you can stay in." She nodded and he sighed. "Well, we should be there in a few hours, so feel free to nap or somethin'."

He didn't speak much the rest of the ride and turned on the country rock station on the radio to fill the silence. After a bit, Chell was nodding to sleep and just as she was about to go out, the man shook her shoulder. "Hey, we're here." He pointed at the town in front of him and smiled. "Welcome to Ratsburrow."

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*Author's Note*

Well! There you go. Chapter 1. It's more of a prologue really. The next chapter will be up shortly! Please R&R if you enjoyed and even if you didn't, constructive criticism is always appreciated. I want this story to be enjoyable to *you* my reader's so if you have any suggestions, *please* go ahead and give them.


	2. New Life, Old Memories

**Chapter 2 – New Home, Old Memories**

Ratsburrow was a small town in the middle of nowhere. The outer part of the town consisted of one to two storey homes and small shops. As Chell got closer to the center, she noticed that the buildings got taller and taller. The largest building in the town was a ten-storey apartment complex. The building Chris had pulled up next to only had three.

"Well. Here we are!" He said. "The first floor is my shop. I'm a mechanic for this town, one of three. And I also sell screws, nails, ect. The top two floors is my home."

Chell looked at the structure. The outside was red brick with black trimmed square windows. The door was a similar red and had a black handle. She followed him inside and looked around the shop. It wasn't very big, only about the size of a 3 car garage.

"Now, if you're going to stay here, I may ask you to do some work. I sometimes have to leave for a client, and I need someone to help with the shop while I'm gone."

Chell looked around and had a slightly worried look on her face. She wasn't sure how much she could do, considering she had no idea what most of the items in the shop were, and she couldn't even speak. Chris saw this and chuckled. "Don't worry, my wife, Wendy, will show you the ropes and help you out." He gestured her to follow him once again and opened a door for her to look through. What she saw actually _was _a 3 car garage. "This is where I fix up the cars. Don't come in here unless you are looking for me." He closed the door and went through a door next to the cash register counter.

"This is the staircase. Don't go up to the third floor, that's Wendy's and my space."

She followed him up the stairs and they went through a small living room and into another hallway. "The door at the end of the hallway is the guest room, where you will be staying. The door across from it is the bathroom."

He went down the opposite way of the hallway into another room. "This is the kitchen, and the eating area is over there." He pointed to the end of the room where a round table with four chairs was located. Chris turned around and looked at Chell. "Well, that's your tour. Remember, no going upstairs or into the garage." She nodded and he smiled. "Well, I'm going to go get your 'box' and bring it to your room."

He began to leave and then turned to her again. "Oh, and there's a computer in your room if you want to use it, just log on to the guest account."

Chell nodded and he left. She looked around the house. It was small, but comfortable. The walls were a friendly yellow complimented by dark wood floors. She walked down to the end of the hallway and into the guest room. There was a double bed casually dressed in floral bedding in the center. There were nightstands on either side, each with a shaded lamp. A dresser was placed across from the end of the bed and there was a large window on the right side of it, and on the wall next to the door was a desk with a bulky computer.

She walked into the room and sat on the bed. Everything was going so fast. It was only yesterday that she escaped Aperture Laboratories, and now she was in a town in some stranger's house. He seemed nice enough, though. He gave her a place to stay, and a small job. But somehow, it didn't feel right. Chell had what she always wanted; to escape Aperture and start new, but there was a feeling in her gut that just wouldn't settle. She was broken from her thoughts when Chris knocked on the door and came in with companion cube and set it next to the desk. He also held something else.

"Here, I picked up a small whiteboard from the shop and a marker for you to communicate with if you would like." Chell took the board and wrote 'thanks' on it and showed it to him. "You're welcome. You can keep that, I don't need it. Wendy is currently making lunch for us, it should be done soon."

He left the room and closed the door, leaving Chell alone once again. _Not that I'm not used to that… I've always been alone… haven't I?_ Technically, she was never alone in the facility; she was always accompanied by silent cameras, murderous turrets, and _her. _GLaDOS was always watching. Always taunting.

"_You know, being Caroline taught me a valuable lesson. I thought you were my greatest enemy. When all along you were my best friend."_

Was she telling the truth? Could she be sure that the once test-obsessed, blood-thirsty machine was telling the truth? Did she only say that because Chell had helped her regain control of the facility? Chell rubbed her temples to try to get rid of the headache all these questions were giving her. Did it really matter anymore? She wasn't going back, she was free, so why did it feel like she was still being taunted and tortured by the facility?

A rumbling stomach brought her back from her mind, and reminded her that she hadn't eaten in a while. _Maybe some food will help take my mind off of that place… _ She grabbed her whiteboard, left the room and then headed to the kitchen. A middle-aged, chubby, blonde-haired woman was cooking what looked like soup on the stove. The woman looked over at Chell and smiled. "Hello deary. The soup is almost done, do you want to set the table for me?" she paused and then said cheerily, "Oh, and in case you couldn't tell, I'm Chris's wife, Wendy." Chell nodded and looked at the stack of bowls and spoons next to her. She picked them up and went over to the table, and began to set them out.

When she started dropping the silverware into the bowls Wendy shook her head and said, "No, no, honey, the spoons go on the right of the bowl, not inside."

A pang of embarrassment shot through her and she quickly placed the silverware in the proper locations. _"You can solve my tests, but can't set a table properly?" _a GLaDOS voice taunted. _"You must really be an idiot." _Chell slammed her fist on the table and thought angrily. _I killed you *twice* and escaped your facility. I'm *not* stupid. _The GLaDOS voice chuckled. _"You didn't escape, I let you go. If I hadn't let you into that elevator and show you the exit, you would still be here. In Aperture, jumping hoops for science." _

"Chell, are you ok?" Wendy placed a hand on her shoulder and Chell jumped away from the touch. She realized what she had done and nodded her head quickly. The woman raised an eyebrow but then turned around and grabbed the handles of the soup pot and placed it in the middle of the table.

"Well then, why don't you go and get Chris, he should be in the shop. I'll finish up here." She then turned around and opened a cabinet and grabbed some cups. Chell left the room and headed downstairs to the shop. _Was that really her? Or am I just hearing things? _The voice sounded like her, but it must have just been her imagination.

A frustrated moan came from the shop and Chell walked around the corner to see Chris tinkering with some sort of small machine and appeared to be having trouble with it. He must've not have heard her approach, because when she was next to him, and he saw her, he nearly jumped out of his skin and almost dropped the object.

"Sea-chell, don't sneak up on me like that." He muttered, leaning against the counter with one hand.

Chell nodded and then drew on her whiteboard an arrow pointing to the object he was holding and tilted her head. He looked at it and raised an eyebrow.

"You've never seen a lawnmower engine before?" he looked at it and shrugged. "Well, I suppose not too many people have. Anyway, there's a wire loose inside and keeps jamming the damn thing, but my hands are too bulky to reach inside and it's at an awkward angle for any of my tools." Chell looked at her hands and grabbed the object.

"H-hey, oh… well, I suppose your hands would fit." He sighed. "Go ahead, if you get the wire just pop it back into that socket there."

She reached her hand inside and the tips of her fingers brushed the wire. After a bit of experimenting with angles, she finally was able to grab the wire between her pointer and middle finger. Then she moved the wire into the socket and fumbled around a bit before it clicked into place.

Chris smiled and patted her shoulder. "Well done, Sea-chell." He placed the object on the counter and said, "Small hands like yours can be very useful in my shop, I may have you help in the garage once you get more used to running the store."

Chell nodded and wrote 'lunch' on the whiteboard. He looked at it and laughed. "Yes, I suppose we better go upstairs before Wendy flips the lid waiting for us."

After a few weeks working it the shop, she had learned the names of most of the tools, how to fix wires, screw and un-screw bolts and what-not. Chell had began to help out in the garage and helped fix four cars and two lawn-mowers. In the shop, she just organized the merchandise and the receipts. Wendy took care of the costumers, so Chell didn't have to struggle to communicate with other people.

Even though she felt like she was fitting into the Scotts' house-hold, memories and questions about Aperture constantly clung to her like a frightened child, and her dreams where haunted by whispers of _her. _Falling asleep was a constant challenge. Back at the facility she never slept, never napped, never rested, because her _life _depended on it, and getting rid of that constant fear was not an easy thing to do. Once she fell asleep, nightmares plagued her and she always woke up before something killed her, or before she reached escape.

One dream had been particularly frightening, and raised even more questions.

_She woke up and tried to wipe the tiredness from her eyes, but found to her horror, she couldn't move. Red beams of light were all around her, but never touching. *Searching, they are searching for me* Suddenly a turret fell on her lap and she jumped._

"_Car- Car- Car- Caroline. *She* is- is- is- Caroline," the turret screamed while twitching and sparking, "Sh- Sh- She hates th- th- the things she loves."_

_Another broken turret fell from the sky and hit the one below and broke through the floor, and only the platform around Chell remained. She looked down and saw the toxic water and flames lapped near the walls. When she looked up, a giant GLaDOS head came down from the ceiling… no, the *sky*. A blood red sky. *Her* head twisted around causing wires to snap and spark and cause a horrible screeching sound in *her* circuitry. GLaDOS's face finally faced Chell, but her once golden eye was red and blood dripped down from it and onto Chell's legs._

"_Please ignore the turret, he was broken. Spewing nonsense. But, I guess you are like that turret. Broken in the head and making up nonsense. Like the lie that you are out of my reach." *Her* head got closer to Chell and the blood now dripped on her head, causing her eyes to fill up with blood and making her blind. _

"_You will *never* be out of my reach Chell, you want to know why?" she got close to her ear. _

"_Because I am your mo-"_

_Suddenly the panel broke and she fell into the water and it began to swallow her up. Frantically she tried to escape from her bonds, but failed. Just as she took her last desperate breath and the water burned into her mouth- _

She woke up. Covered in sweat and panting with fear.

She couldn't see anything.

_I-I'm blind! _She touched her face and felt no blood or burns, and then relaxed. _Oh… a dream… it was just a dream…_

Taking a deep breath, Chell turned on her bed-side lamp and rubbed her eyes. _How long is this going to last? How long will it take for Aperture to let me go? _She got up and her eyes got wide. _Wait… GLaDOS… was she going to say… *mother*? _She shook her head and took a deep breath. _No. It was just a nightmare, I imagined it. _Then again, who _was _Chell's mother? GLaDOS had never told her, and she never got any hints as to who they were.

She looked at the computer in front of her and sat down in the chair. The computer's fan hummed as she pressed the power button and the screen slowly lit up. After it loaded, a user screen came up and she clicked the "guest" icon. She couldn't remember the last time she used a computer, but it seemed familiar somehow. Chell clicked on the internet icon and the Google search came up.

At that moment she understood what that empty, tugging feeling was that had been haunting her all these weeks. It wasn't GLaDOS's control, or the Aperture facility, it was the empty void in her memories that she couldn't recall that poked and prodded at her, begging to be remembered, not the horrifying time spent in Aperture. All those nightmares she had, all the voices, she realized that they always brought her the same question. Who _am _I? or, who _was _I?

She stared at the search bar once again as the cursor blinked. What was she going to look for? Was there really any chance she could find her answers on a simple search engine? She took a deep breath and typed in "Aperture Science". It was a good start, a very broad topic, but the search results were disappointing. She scrolled down the screen and saw "Science labs" and "Science books", but nothing to do with Aperture.

She sighed and leaned against her hand. After a moment, she typed in "Cave Johnson". Maybe the man who founded the facility had articles of the people he took for testing, or the scientists he hired. The first link seemed promising and she clicked it, but the article only had a picture of Cave and a brief mention of the science facility. The most depth it went into was that he spent a lot of money without thinking about finances. She exited out of the page and turned off the computer.

_I should've known. Of course there wouldn't have been anything, especially about me. Maybe Chell isn't even my name. Maybe it's hopeless. _She shook her head. _No Chell, you *never* give up. You promised yourself this. Giving up means dying. Giving up means you didn't want to endure and push through to reach your goal. _

However, searching for answers on Google wasn't going to get her anywhere. She would have to go back to the place that she wanted for so long to escape._ No, I cannot go back there. I fought too hard too long to go back. There must be another way… right? _

Dun Dun Dun! What's going to happen? Well, I'm assuming you can predict from the summary. Anyway, everyone's favorite core is going to appear next chapter ;) if you know who I mean. There isn't going to be much "pairing" going on. I suppose if I get enough favorites or requests for this, I'll make an alternate ending for those who want Chelly, because it's not everyone's cup of tea. If you would like that alternate ending, just PM me and if I get enough requests for it, I will write it. After I finish the actual story of course.

Anyway, I hope you enjoyed this chapter and hopefully you will like the next one too ;) Please leave comments, they are *greatly* appreciated. I will take into consideration any requests you have. I am here to make this story entertaining for my audience. Also, if you have any critiques, they are greatly appreciated. I love constructive criticism. Of course, bashing is not tolerated. If you don't like something about the story, like the writing style, or what-not, please give a reasonable polite comment saying why you don't like a part of the story.

Third chapter should be up soon! I will try to get it written by Friday at the earliest.


	3. Crash Landing

Months went by, and then years. Four years to be exact. Four years Chell struggled to forget about Aperture, to get rid of that tugging feeling in her gut, and to fill the empty void in her memories. She had gotten into the habit of leaving the Scott's house in the middle of the night to explore the nearby fields and clear her mind. He favorite spot was atop a small hill that had a lone tree whose roots scarred the ground. Among the roots was a spot that was perfect to lie down in and watch the stars. Every time she was there, every single night, she saw what looked like a satellite pass through the sky. It gave off a faint blue light that didn't twinkle like the stars. It was dull and small, but it still stood out from the vast, over-powering sky.

One night, however, the satellite was gone. She was there at the same time it usually orbited around, but it was nowhere to be seen. _Did it crash? _The next morning, a farmer had come into the shop with interesting news. Chell had overheard them talking, and she hid by the staircase and eavesdropped.

"I'm tellin' ya, that thing crashed into my cornfield and made a good size crater." He explained.

"It was probably just a satellite, Paul." She replied, pressing buttons on the cash register.

"No, this thing was spherical; it didn't look like no satellite." He quickly replied. "Whatever it was, it was in pretty bad shape. All banged up n' burned."

Chell's eyes widened. _No. No no no, it couldn't be! Could it? _She rounded the corner and set her whiteboard on the counter saying 'I'll be out for a bit, be back by dinner.' Before Wendy could ask any questions she was out the door and heading toward the cornfield. Once the windows of the shop were out of sight, she broke into a sprint. A wooden fence surrounded the field and she swiftly swung over it.

The stalks of corn towered over high above her and hit her as she continued sprinting through. _It can't be… it couldn't be. _She stopped for a moment. _But what if it is? What then? _Chell looked behind her and then back ahead. _If it is him, I need to get him away from everyone. Knowing his thought process, he could spill something about Aperture and- _She smiled. _And Me. _Again she began sprinting forward, this time with excitement. If it was him, she could get the information that she craved. He should know _something_.

Before she could think things through, the stalks opened up to a good size crater and in the middle of it… _Wheatley. _There was no doubt about it; there was no one else it could be. She went over and turned him over, and-

"SPAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAACE! I-IT'S GONE! I-I LEFT SPAAAAAAAAACEEE!" The core's yellow optic flailed in every direction looking for who knows what. Chell sighed with disappointment.

"Yes, I know mate, it must be so difficult for you." A familiar voice muttered. She walked over towards the sound and found herself next to another crater.

"W-Who's there? Um… if you _are _there, do you think you could help me out? I had a bit of a… um… crash." Chell made no movement and only stared. "Oh… I guess you left…. That's ok, that's normal I suppose, to walk away from a talking piece of machinery, perfectly normal reaction. But if you _are _still there, I would really appreciate some help."

Chell approached slowly and walked around and saw the unmistakable striking blue optic of Wheatley. His optic was still cracked in half, but now the outside of him was covered it burns and the left side of him was bashed in.

When he saw her, he made a sort of gasping noise.

"I-t's you! U-umm, wow, you were the _last _person I thought I would see, to be honest." He was quiet for a second, taking in her presence and then continued, "So, I know I was a bit of a… um… bloodthirsty lunatic, but if you could help me out, I swear I'll make it up to you, I'll do anything… of course, if you just leave me here, I'd understand… I suppose you're going to do that, considering I tried to kill you several ti-"

She kicked him hard and sent his spherical body a few feet from his crater.

"Ow ow ow! Y'know, lady, I _can _feel pain. But… I suppose I should've seen this coming…Oh! I just remembered something, yeah, before you decide to kick me again, let me just say something…might lighten the mood a bit, well, _your _mood… just listen, please?"

Chell crossed her arms and waited.

"L-let's see, I think it went a bit like this… um… wait I have it recorded. 'I wish I could take it all back. I honestly do. I honestly do wish I could take it all back. And not just because I'm stranded in space…Y'know if I was ever to see her again you know what I'd say? I'm sorry. Sincerely. I am sorry I was bossy, and monstrous, and I am genuinely sorry. The End.'" He was quiet for a moment as he looked at Chell's face for some sort of response. But the angry stare remained and he quickly made another comment.

"Well, you know, I said that about four years ago… floating in space… so you can imagine I had _plenty _of time to think about what I've done wrong, so if you can find it in you erm… heart to forgive me, I'd be very, very thankful."

She stared at him angrily and gave him a good kick again.

"Oooow! Ok, ok, well, if you don't want to help and/or forgive me, and that is still an option, please put the other lad out of his misery. Just pull out some wires and he should shut down. He's been hysterical after we landed here. And that was _not _a pleasant experience let me tell you, we caught on fire a few times and as you can see, we got nice big dents on us from the landing. It's actually, _very _painful. Quite excruciating actually, " He looked at her again and then to the side. "Of course, you technically wouldn't be bringing him any pain, or _killing _him, just turning him off. So… um… comments? Questions?"

_Lot's. Lot's of questions. _She thought to herself. She felt a tiny bit of pity for him, he looked absolutely awful. However, considering what he put her through, that pity went away and she gave him another kick in response. Finally, after a few more rounds of kicks, she picked him up by one handle and headed towards space core.

"O-oh, so you _are_ helping me! For a moment there I thought you were never going to stop doing that. You _are _helping me, right? Well, I suppose I wouldn't put it past you to drop me into a fire pit or smash me with a hammer. Um, actually, forget I said that… um… but where _are _you taking me?" he asked.

She hit him again to try to get him to shut up.

"Ok, I guess you still can't talk… and I'm assuming I'm the last person you'd want to converse with, so… um… I'll just be quiet until further notice. And observe. Observe and wait."

When she was next to space core, he began to freak out again.

"SPACE! WHERE IS MY SPACE?" His optic set on Chell. "LADY! SEND ME TO SPACE! Space. Space. I'm going back. Seeing it all! All of it!" she pulled out some wires like he said and his optic faded away and his drabbles ended in silence.

With both cores in hand, she headed back out of the cornfield and towards town. However, If Wheatley started talking on her way back, they'd be discovered and attract too much attention. So she decided to wait until dark to take them back into the apartment, so she stuck the two into an un-used shed and put her finger to her lips for Wheatley to see and closed the door.

* * *

When night had fallen, she snuck back out once everyone was asleep and went back to the shed. _He said he would do *anything*. So I'll have him give me answers. Simple enough, even for someone with a mind like his. _She opened the shed and saw that Wheatley was in "sleep-mode", or at least, his lenses were closed. Carefully, she picked the two up and headed back to the apartment as quietly and quickly as she could. Once she arrived, she went through the garage, and up the stairs and back into her room.

_Do you *really* want to trust a moron? I think you should come back to *me* Chell. I have a greater brain capacity than him. I could give you the answers. _A GLaDOS voice droned. _Shut up! I'm never going back, no matter what you say. _She looked at the "sleeping" core. He was made to be stupid, could she really trust what he said? But, he was the only option she currently had, so he would have to do.

A good thump with her fist on top of him was enough to wake him up.

"W-What? Where am I?"

Chell hit him again and put a finger to her lips.

"Sorry. Couldn't help it. Not unusual to freak out when you don't know where you are. And would you _please _stop hitting me? I'm through enough pain right now, I assure you." He whispered. She rolled her eyes and jotted down a question on the whiteboard and showed it to him. 'Tell me who I am. Who was I? What happened to me?' it read.

"Umm… you are a girl, um, woman actually. You were a test subject… looking at your old files you actually weren't _supposed _to be tested, but it happened anyway, somehow. Not my fault. You um… escaped… uh…"

Chell grabbed the whiteboard and wrote again. 'I meant who was I _before _Aperture.' Wheatley read the note and replied sadly, "I'm sorry. I honestly, truly have no idea. I'm only a core, love. I was only told so much."

She leaned back on the side of the bed and sighed heavily.

"B-but um… even though _I _don't have the information, I know where we can get it. If we go back to Aper-"

She slammed her fist on him again and quickly shook her head.

"Ouch. Well, sorry, if I didn't know that was a touchy subject. Excuse me for being uninformed. Well, I suppose it would make sense that you wouldn't want to go back, but hear me out. I know my way around there. I could help you break into the file room and find yours. Wouldn't surprise me if something was there."

_Yeah, because your guidance worked so well last time. _She thought bitterly. Wheatley watched her as she thought and coughed to break the silence.

"Um… look, Chell, that _is _your name right? Ok. Um, hate to break this to you, but, uh, if you _don't _go back, you'll never find that information. Ever. Anywhere. I could be wrong, but it's very top secret the last time I checked. And this would be a great opportunity for me to prove to you that I've changed. That I'm no longer that power-crazed maniac that you had to endure for um… quite a while, actually."

She looked to the side and tried to ignore him. _I can't go back. Not again. I'm finally free._ The haunting feeling tugged at her again. _Well, I suppose physically I'm free, but if I live my life without ever knowing, I'll never get over it. I'll never be 100%. _A voice laughed. _See? In the end you'll always be under my control. However, if you do return, you can be sure the light of day will never again reach you again. _Chell narrowed her eyes angrily. _I killed you twice. I can kill you again if need be. I *will* figure out my past and I *will* escape. You know what? Once I get what I came for, I will kill you. And I will make sure that you will never be able to re-boot again. _

"Chell, um, hello? You ok there?" Wheatley asked. She looked at him and wrote down on the whiteboard. 'We're going back. I'm going to finish this once and for all'.

* * *

*Author's Comments*

Yaay! Wheatley is back! Now, for those Chelley fans, there's not going to be much fluff. Later on there _might _be hints of it, but if you want actual Chelley, I will make an alternate ending for you. Just PM me saying if you want it or not, and like I said last chapter, depending on the amount of requests I get for it will determine whether or not I write it.

I hope you enjoyed this chapter and that you will continue reading! Please comment if you have the time. Even a simple comment like "I enjoyed this" will make all the difference in the world for me.

Fourth Chapter will be up soon! I finished this one quicker than I thought, so I may wait for Saturday to write it. And you can be sure there's going to be more dialogue, especially with Wheatley around.

Until then, enjoy the current chapters! :D Remember, don't forget to think with portals!


	4. Preparation

The next morning, Chell prepared to go back to Aperture. She told Chris that she was going away so she could fix unresolved problems. However, her current issue was that Wheatley was in such bad shape, he began to glitch and turn off randomly. She hadn't really minded to see him in that condition, he deserved it after all. But deep down, Chell felt a bit sorry for him. It wasn't his fault that he was made to be an idiot, but then again, if he had been working properly, would he have succeeded in killing her? She pushed away the thought and grabbed a toolbox from the garage and brought it up to her room.

"Oooh, what's that you got there? A toolbox? Oh! Oh! You're going to fix me-e-e-e-e-e aren't you? Um… I just had a bit of a glitch, didn't I-I-I-I-I. There it goes again! Rather obnoxious really, say, do you think you could hurry up and fix my wires?" Wheatley asked.

Chell sighed. He didn't deserve it, he should remain in his suffering, but she needed him for when she went back to Aperture… didn't she? _Do I really need him? I could fair just as well without him, I could go by myself. _She realized that the reason she was bringing him was for company. His constant blathering had been a comfort in the murderous facility. It made her laugh on the inside to hear his nonsense.

"Um, not to rush you-u-u-u-u but um, you seem to space out uh, quite a bit, and I would just li-i-ike to remind you that this is getting very annoying-ing-ing. It's painful, a-a-actually. Like having a sore throat."

She sighed and began working. The years she had spent working with Chris made her job much easier. After a bit of re-screwing wires, replacing damaged parts, and what-not, Wheatley was able to function again.

"Ah! That's tremendous, thank you. That really relieved a lot of the pain. Thanks again." He looked over to companion cube. "So… are you bringing that again? I see you fixed some of its damage too, but I imagine it's is still in quite a lot of pain."

Chell gave him a confused look.

"Oh, yes, um, Companion Cube, even though it seems inanimate, actually is indeed um… alive. Like me. Not like you, obviously. GLaDOS made sure that every piece of equipment could feel pain. Rather sadistic if you ask me. Never heard the thing talk, though, not sure if it can…Anyway, are you going to bring it?"

She nodded, still confused. More so because he was concerned about her brining it, it was, in fact, just a cube, it's not like it would cause any problems for them. Chell didn't know how she would go about fixing the cube since there was no obvious ways to get to its wiring, if it had any.

She got a back pack and stuck her toolbox inside along with a flashlight, a walkie-talkie, and water. Then she strapped Companion Cube to the bag and picked up Wheatley.

"Oh? Are we going now? Tremendous! It'll be like the old days where you jump around doing your puzzle-solving thing and I advise you!"

_You weren't that much of help in the "old days". _She though angrily. She headed downstairs and left the house to begin her walk back to Aperture.

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*Author's Note*

Sorry I haven't updated in such a long time! I've been busy with school and I had lost interest in the story. I have new ideas for it and I will try to be updating more often. Hope you enjoyed the chapter! R&R please :)


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